When Innocence Dies
by ilanitaliaXD
Summary: Earthquake shakes the shop. Light appears and washes over them, taking them away from their safe world and landing them in an unfamiliar place that is more dangerous than first seen. Someone is after his special gift. Someone wants to hurt those close to him through him. You are entering dangerous grounds. Be cautious. hiatus
1. Prologue - When the world trembled

i put this prologue to see if anyone is interested in it. i will post the next chapter only if i get a comment that says that i should continue this because i am not going to just post for no one, understand? i can read this on my computer any time so i don't have to put this here. but i want to let readers who want a change from the usual OC insert stories (which are good, not trying to offend anyone) have a story as well.

enjoy and do comment please.

DISCLAIMER: i do not own GBF. the plot and the original characters are mine

* * *

 ** _The crystal lit in golden orange light and a small ball of the same substance formed in front of it, electricity crackling all over its surface._**

 ** _Almost as if it was a cannon…_**

 ** _"_ TAKE COVER! _" Takeshi felt arms pulling him down, resulting in him losing his grip on his son, who was still on hand-rail, blue eyes wide in surprise and curiosity._**

 ** _The light grew stronger, aimed at the toddler who seemed to have frozen._**

 ** _It's going to hit him._**

 ** _His son!_**

 ** _Takeshi screamed the moment the light erupted, hitting the toddler point blank in a beam of light._**

 ** _"_ SEI! _"_**

* * *

Prologue - And the world trembled

* * *

 _"The winner of the battle and the champion of the 9_ _th_ _world tournament is… Iori Sei, representing 3_ _rd_ _block Japan!" The crowd erupted in cheers as he lifted his semi-broken Gunpla, eyes shining with pride and tears._

 _I won! I had won all by myself. I had grown strong enough to be able to win the tournament without Reiji's help._

 _But where is Reiji?_ Sei opened his eyes and sneezed. The morning sunlight lit the darkness under the covers, making him sigh and remove them. He reflected back to the dream he had - It was only six months since his victory at the finals and it already felt like a far away, hazy memory. His gaze fell on the trophy standing on the desk and had a fleeting thought that he would have much preferred to have Reiji here without the trophy rather than have it without his friend.

He shook off his gloomy thoughts and forced himself to smile – Reiji had promised him after all that they would see each other again when he would grow stronger. The blunet smile turned genuine at that and he got up to prepare for school, subconsciously waiting for a certain redhead to comment about having to wake up so early.

At the table he could almost hear the redhead wolfing down the food and praising his mother, making her swoon in response. Then he realized what he was thinking and all appetite he had vanished. The teen sighed and placed down the fork and stood up, not noticing the sad look his mother, Rinko, was giving him. This scenario was reoccurring too often since he had won.

"Sei-chan?" The woman asked her son, knowing how he would respond. "You didn't even touch your food. That's the second time this week already."

"I'm sorry, mom. I'm just not hungry, that's all." He smiled weakly at her. "I'm going."

"Take care…" Rinko waited until the door closed behind him before she let herself sigh and put her face in her hands. "Please… someone bring his smile back."

* * *

At lunch period, China turned to Sei. "Sei-kun, do you want to eat lunch together?"

"…" She sighed and took out something from her bag and placed it on the boy's desk loudly. Sei didn't even flinch and didn't look away from the window.

China huffed, that was beyond rude already. She took a deep breath and –

"Sei-kun!" Said blunet jumped and turned to stare at the girl in confusion.

"I-Inchou?" He stammered when he saw her scowl. China sighed again and folded her arms. "How Many times have I told you to call me China?"

"S-sorry, China… so, umm… what did you want?"

"I was hoping to eat lunch," Her posture relaxed and she motioned to the thing she placed on the desk, a gunpla she had been working on last night. "And if you can, can you help me with it?"

"Of course!" Sei's eyes sparkled as he held the tiny model. "It's a Musha Gundam. The SD version was designed by Koichi Yamato and Craft dan representative, Yasui Hisashi while the Dynasty Warriors Gundam version is designed by Hajime Katoki. The concept began with more typical Gundam proportions, but it's famous for inspiring the long running SD Gundam franchise-" He continue rambled on the model, depression lifted from his shoulders.

China laughed, internally glad that he finally snapped from his brooding. She took out her o-bento and listened to the teen babble on and on contently. There is no way she would miss this for the world.

* * *

"I'm home!"

"Oh, welcome home, Sei-chan. Ara? China-chan," Rinko smiled brightly as the girl who was standing slightly behind her son. "Are you here to build Gunpla again with Sei, or perhaps for a date?" Her blue eyes twinkled as she entered her Sei match-making mode.

Here we go again, the teens sighed, their faces slightly red.

"Mom…"

"Oh, sorry, sorry," She waved them away. "Don't mind me."

Too late, they thought annoyingly as they closed the door to the stairs behind them, exhaling breath in relief. Then they exchanged looks and chuckled.

Shortly after they entered the living room of the apartment and sat on the couch. China eyed Sei and fingered her Musha. A week prior to the finals, Sei had asked her out on a date around the festival. Since then they had unofficially got together. She still felt overwhelmed and was scared that this would strain their relationship even after six months and many reassurances from Sei.

"China?" The boy's voice snapped her back to reality.

"Y-yes!" She blushed. How embarrassing, how could she allow herself to wander off like that? She placed the Gunpla on the table. "Can I see Cosmos?"

Even though Sei had made Build Strike Cosmos close to two years ago, he had refused to change the name and the base for the Gunpla. And since it had been such a long time and such a hassle to say the full name, Build Strike Cosmos had been nicknamed Cosmos by them both. In some way, China felt closer to the Gunpla, which she thought childish but still filled her with giddiness.

Sei complied and took out the blue white model from his pocket. He placed it on the table by the SD Gunpla gently and narrowed his eyes in thought. China eyed him as he smiled and repositioned both Gunpla so they held hands.

Perfect, he thought and laughed as China started sputtering, face all flushed.

"S-Sei-kun!" She was too cute, he laughed louder.

 _Wow, I sure rubbed off on you_ , His eyes widened and he looked around him frantically. China calmed down and stared at him in concern. "Sei-kun?"

"I was sure I heard—" But before he could finish, the room shook.

Sei and China snatched their robots and ran downstairs. The second the blunet slammed the door to the shop open, the ground rattled even harder and shelves were now falling. Sei covered China as glass shattered in a deafening noise, winching as the glass cut him, ears ringing.

"Sei!" His mom's scared shout vibrated along with the earthquake.

"Mom!"

"Get outside!"

The teens tried to find a safe road outside the shop, holding each other and the wall when a a ball pf dark blue light appeared in the middle of the wreckage. Sei's body stopped as if somebody had frozen it. He couldn't move.

"What is—" The light turned bright gold and everything was swallowed by it.

By the time the light faded, the earth quieted down and Rinko stared into an empty shop. Her eyes grew wide in horror and her hands went up to her face as she screamed in anguish.

" _ **SEI!**_ "

* * *

thoughts? what do you think of my new fic? what do you think will happen to sei and china? what was the light?

i thought of trying to write something more adventurous and fantastical than all the other OC inserted fics in the fandoms, which i am not saying are bad, some are really good, but i really want to see sei, china, Reiji, and Aila go on adventures or fight against each other.

this will have some gunpla and gundam, but will not be the main focus.

 **just a warning: there will be blood and torture, so prepare yourself. and this fic is a tragedy so beware. enjoy!**

 **pairings: Sei/China and Reiji/Aila.**


	2. Where Are We?

you know what? i am just going to dump the story here and if anyone reads it, good. if not, whatever.

enjoy and do review please.

DISCLAIMER: i do not own GBF. the plot and the original characters are mine

* * *

Chapter 1 \- Where are we?

* * *

This sucks, was the first thought Sei had when he regained consciousness. Everything hurt as if he was on fire. He felt his hand still clutching Cosmos which calmed him slightly. Only then he felt his shirt getting wet and sticky and he begun to worry.

Am I bleeding from the glass? He tried to open his eyes and suddenly a too bright light hit him and he shut them close, moaning in pain.

While the burning sensation ebbed away, his ears started functioning again and a familiar noise echoed in them. He groaned at the headache it brought, please be quiet…

Slowly he could make the words out of the voice, but please stop… I want to go to sleep.

"— _ve to wake up! Oh, god, you're loosing too much blood._ _Please, wake up!_ " Something warm shook his shoulder and he grunted incoherently, his headache pounding painfully. Would it kill those voices to leave me alone? I'm tired and in pai-

A slap made his eyes snap open in shock and he saw China's red rimmed eyes glare at him with unshed tears. What… what happened? Why is she crying?

" _China_ _?_ " God, his throat hurt.

"Oh, thank god." No pun intended, he thought dryly, since he was not thankful for him.

" _What happened?_ " He tried to get up, but was stopped by a hand on his chest.

"Don't move." China pushed him gently back to the ground, which was filled with sand for some reason. Weren't they at the shop? "I'm going to remove your shirt and use it as bandages, okay? You need patching up." Sei could only blush as he nodded, slightly amused by his ability to be embarrassed in this situation. China slowly removed the shirt, too conscious of his winching and pained breathes. He was too tired for a whimper.

By the time she had finally removed the shirt and had it torn to strips, he was feeling lightheaded. He couldn't even move his head to see the injury, but spikes of the stabbing pain didn't let him forget about it. China was muttering calming sentiments and he tried to concentrate on her voice, the noise not repulsing as before but rather angelic to his tired psych.

How beautiful, he thought helplessly. That earthquake wasn't so bad in the end… but why is there sand underneath me? I don't remember any sand bags near the shop.

" _China_ _?_ "

"Hmm?"

" _Where are we?_ " The hands wrapping his stomach froze. " _China_ _?_ " Had he said something wrong?

"I-I don't know, Sei-kun. After the light disappeared we were here already and you were lying several meters away from me. You were bleeding for some while, but I think I know what cut you." She pointed to a bloodied sharp pointed object a centimeter away from his mid-section. "I tried to move it, but it's stuck deep in the sand and it's still too dangerous to move you."

" _What… what is it?_ "

"I have no idea, but it's too smooth to be a rock and it feels like metal, although what is it doing here is beyond me."

Sei looked at the object curiously. It arched up from the sand and its tip glinted with the blood. But even covered with blood he could have sworn that it looked like a…

" _Gundam?_ " He was delirious, he knew that for sure now. There is no way that a life-size _Gundam_ would just conveniently lie under where they are. He really was a Gundamholic.

"Gundam?" China replied with a heavy tone of doubt in her voice.

" _Wouldn't… hurt to try…_ " Sei sighed, winching at the pain, " _We_ are _kind of lost here_."

"Okay." She rolled up her sleeves and started removing the sand from the object.

Sei slowly fell into a light slumber, feeling slightly guilty for making her do all the work. But he was exhausted and even the slightest movement kindled the pain so he would only be a hindrance.

The wound, it seems, wasn't life threatening, but he was not used to those kinds of injuries, so he didn't know how to handle the pain and so his reaction to it is much more drastic, hence his current predicament.

"Sei-kun?" China's voice wavered in fear mingled with excitement. The blunette forced his eyes open, slightly agitated since he couldn't sleep.

"I think that you were right?" It was more of a question than a statement.

" _Huh?_ "

"I revealed a head of a Gundam. The thing that cut you was part of the V-wings.

But that's the thing – it looks exactly like your original build strike on the day Reiji first came."

" _What?!_ " Now she had his full attention. But… " _Build Strike?!_ "

"Yes."

Sei inhaled deeply and slowly exhaled before his eyes narrowed in determination. China knew this look and felt her body go rigid with relief. He'll know what to do. He was the expert on Gundam.

Sei coughed a bit, but the look didn't waver. " _We need to remove the sand from the midsection. There should be an indent to open it and if what I watched is any good you should find a seat for the operator. The water bottles will hopefully be in the compartment above it—_ "

"Sei," China hated to interrupt him, but he was ranting now. "We're in a desert. Right now it's still cool somehow but there is no way that there is water in there. It should all be vaporized."

" _China_." A warmer than usual hand rested on hers and she looked up to see unfocused eyes bright with the heat, and then it hit her – they have two options; do nothing and die from dehydration or try and find water even if it's in the unlikeliest places.

She nodded and walked over to where she guessed the mid-section would be judging by the location of the head. She then started digging, all while talking loudly to Sei to keep him from falling asleep.

* * *

By the time she uncovered the shining metal surface, she was sweating and lightheaded from the heat. She took a long moment to regain her breath before she started looking for the dent.

Nothing… nothing… she almost chanted in her head frantically. Nothing… nothi- found it! She exclaimed internally when her hand went under a curve of the metal. Cold wind hit her flushed face as the panels slid open, revealing the operator cockpit. She climbed into it and scanned the space above the seat for any containers but couldn't feel anything. She slumped down and sniffled as she let herself wallow in despair.

We will die here.

" _China_ _?_ " The faint voice of Sei snapped her out of her stupor.

What am I doing? Sei is depending on me! She frowned in determination and reached out once more and hit a cold button, and a small fridge opened before her. She saw a row of sealed bottles and cups and for some reason she was relieved that the Gundam was lying down. But nonetheless she grabbed a random cup and climbed back outside.

"Sei-kun! I found it!" She called triumphantly as she jumped from Gundam and crouched by the teen. She waited for a response but when he stayed completely still, her eyes widened.

"Sei-kun!" She fumbled for a heartbeat, noticing the sweaty and hot skin, and found a slightly erratic but strong one. "Sei-kun, please wake up, I have water. I found them where you told me they are." She raised his head slightly and placed the straw in his mouth.

Please! She prayed, please drink or you'll die.

Slowly the mouth closed over the tip and water moved into the boy's mouth as he sucked from it. Hazed eyes cracked open and looked up to her with such gratitude you would think she was an angel that came to save him. It was so endearing that she had to smile at that, even though her grip on the cup tightened. She is not leaving him alone ever again.

"Sei-kun? Do you know how to work a Gundam?" The teen looked at her again and hesitated for a moment before nodding uncertainly. "Good. I'm going to move you to the operator seat so bear with me, okay? This is perhaps our only chance to survive."

Sei's body stiffened in a way that told her that he was not happy about it at all, but he nodded.

* * *

China knew now that she will have nightmares for many nights to come. Sei's weak cries of agony as they slowly raised him on his feet ripped her heart out and made her knees week. She didn't want to hurt him yet as his face was buried in her shoulder to muffle the screams she felt that all she is causing him lately is pain. After he was finally steady on his feet she let him rest for a long while, the heavy panting and tears cutting into her heart further.

"I'm so sorry, Sei-kun."

" _I-it's okay… I'm fine…_ " He was **not** fine, but they didn't have a choice.

"Okay…" She held him, signaling him to move. But as he did his first step, his legs collapsed and he fell, dragging her down with him. They were sprawled on the sand; Sei was crying and heaving, his face green and China was holding him.

"Sei-kun…"

" _I-I'm sorry, but I don't feel so good…_ " He then retched what little was in his stomach.

We need to hurry, China thought in alarm. Sei can't handle much more.

She circled his arm around her shoulders and placed her free hand over his healthy side and slowly pulled him up. Sei noticed her struggling and shakily moved onto his feet.

"Good." But it was a painfully long walk to the open hatch and an even worse climb into the compartment.

When she finally had him lying in the chair, though uncomfortably seeing that it was horizontal (since the Gundam was lying down). He was bleeding through the cloth and slipping into unconsciousness. Fortunately, the cold air and the water seemed to revive him and his skin seemed cooler. They avoided a near-death situation and China knew that they were still in danger so after she redressed the wound, she settled by the back wall and let Sei rummage through his memories of Gundam marathons.

After a minute or two, Sei smiled faintly and pulled out of a hole a plain blank board. He then placed a hand on it and China saw light blue particles rise from his hand and lines of the same color slithered over the board, forming a keyboard under his hand.

She blinked at it. Plavsky Particles?

Then two things happened – first, the hatchet closed and then, several screens popped around them, showing the outside world. China stared in awe at them, seeing the dunes and the blue sky even though she was inside. Sei smiled at her enthusiasm and touched a battery icon on one of the screens. It beeped and a simple sentence appeared.

 _'Solar energy charge start. Twenty minutes left.'_

"Thank goodness," Sei shoulders drooped. China chuckled at his position (it _was_ pretty ridiculous). He looked at her and smiled in relief. She was finally smiling.

All he had done lately was to make her sad, but he finally did something right. He grinned and pushed a random button and an emergency oxygen mask fell on his face, making China bark out a laugh and hold her sides as she gulped in air while laughing uncontrollably. Then, she started hiccuping and Sei stared at her with wide eyes before he, too, started laughing. She turned red and pouted at him, but combined with the hiccuping had sent him into another fit of breathy chuckles, not noticing the small smile and the happiness dancing in her eyes.

"Here some water," She gave him the bottle after they had calmed down. He thanked her and drank it greedily. The adrenaline slowly ebbed away, hitting Sei with pain full force, but he held it in, not showing it since he didn't want the moment to be over.

When he finally managed to breath through the panic, the screen lit up again. This time it said _'Charge complete. Start the Gundam.'_ He panicked for a moment since he didn't notice how the time flew by, but then he beat down the panic and took controlled breaths. China is relying on his piloting skills.

"Okay, here goes nothing." Sei buckled himself and motioned to China to hold onto him. Then he grasped a lever in front of him and pushed it all the way forward. Wheezing motors roared to life and the duo's hearts skipped a beat when they rose up as the Gundam sat up.

When the room was perfectly vertical, Sei concentrated on the keyboard before pushing random buttons. They watched in fascination as the sand rolled away from the rising knees, then they held their breath as Sei pushed another level. They slowly rose above ground as the Gundam stood up until they were several feet above ground, and only then they let themselves exhale in relief.

Sei's eyes sparkled as his hands clenched around the lever. We're actually inside a Gundam, he thought excitedly and accidentally pushed the lever too far and they crashed face-first on the sand. China cried in surprise and pain as her head bumped the front wall, but he could only gasp in agony as the breath was knocked out of him by the straps as they dug into his injured side.

"S-Sei-kun?" She asked as she held her head, silently whimpering when she felt a bump and blood.

"I-I'm fine." He breathed and blinked back the tears before he pulled back the lever and pushed another.

It took several more minutes and more failed attempts until they were finally standing up correctly. The two shared a brief hand squeeze to celebrate before Sei begun moving them onward and soon they were running across the sand. Sei shouted in glee with a big smile on his face. China, on the other hand, was worried.

"Sei-kun?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you know where to go?" His hand yanked the lever too hard, making the Gundam stumble. Thankfully, Sei realized his mistake and righted them so they won't fall again.

China sighed at that. He didn't know.

"Hehehe…" Sei rubbed his nape, flustered. He touched the front screen and swiped it to the right. A map appeared and he spoke out loud to the space, "What is the closest city to us? Place and time, please."

A red dot flashed not far from them and it read _'Colony 1, 240 km, 10 hours'_

"Colony 1? Are we in space?" Sei looked at the desert around him. "I thought that there are no deserts in colonies."

China was doubtful, but this was not the time for arguments and it sounded pretty plausible. "But when you think about it, it _is_ much cooler than an average desert, and _especially_ for this time of day."

"We should head to that city and ask around because I'm starting to think that this is one long dream."

"Then make that both of us. How did we even end up in space? And we don't even have colonies in space yet."

"No idea," He shrugged and pressed his feet on a pedal. "But at least we have a destination.

To colony 1 here we go!"


	3. Colony 1

THANK YOU **GUARDIAN OF LIGHT LIGHTUS** FOR REVIEWING ON THE STORY!

enjoy and do review please.

DISCLAIMER: i do not own GBF. the plot and the original characters are mine

 **note: sei and china use japanese honorifics while arian people use english honorifics. just to emphasize that despite both places speak japanese, that there is a difference.**

* * *

 _Last on 'When Innocence Dies' :_

 _"We should head to that city and ask around because I'm starting to think that this is one long dream."_

 _"Then make that both of us. How did we even end up in space? And we don't even have colonies in space yet."_

 _"No idea," Sei shrugged and pressed his feet on a pedal. "But at least we have a destination._

 _To colony 1 here we go!"_

* * *

Chapter 2 \- Colony 1

* * *

Four hours after they had set off, the sky suddenly darkened so they decided to rest the night to gather up their strength. Sei was thankful for that, seeing his body ached from all the moving and his feet started to feel numb. Not to mention that he was feeling drowsy again.

China was checking for hidden places when she pressed a button and a small niche opened and she was faced with a first aid kit.

Sei jumped when she banged her head on the metal… _again_. "Are you okay?"

She blinked back tears and ignored the headache forming. "Y-yes. But more importantly – I found a first aid kit!" She sat up and moved so she was by his injured side. The teen eyed her wearily, eyes heavy, "The bleeding stopped, China."

"We still need to disinfect and stitch it."

No way! Sei exclaimed in his head but the fatigue won and he slowly slumped down, eyes closing. China noticed and panicked, "Sei-kun!" Is he fainting? Did he lose more blood than I had thought? "Does anything hurt or feel numb?"

It took a moment for Sei to find the capability to utter that he can't feel his feet. Why was she asking it now? He felt it for a while so why now? Can't she just let it rest? It has been while since he didn't feel any pain. It was great so why ruin it?

He was so out of it that he didn't notice her alarmingly open the kit and fish out bandages, sewing kit and two towels. She folded one of them and placed it between his teeth.

Only when he tasted the dry cloth, his mind woken up enough to try and find the reason he was eating a rag. And why he was incapable of moving.

"I'm sorry, but there isn't anything for the pain, so bear with it." She used some of the bandages to bind his hands, chest and legs to the chair so he won't move. He was like a rag doll, letting her do as she pleased and China begrudgingly was grateful that didn't put up a fight.

She moved him slightly so she will have better access to the wound. She cut and removed the bloody cloths. Then she pressed both ends of the wound together, took a deep breath and inserted the needle.

" _MMM!_ " Sei's shriek was muffled by the towel. His hands clenched to armrests and his body tried to move away but was stopped by the binds. A whimper escaped the cloth and China had to calm down the frightened teen and herself before she could continue sewing the wound.

The cut was long and ragged, so it took what felt like eons until she finished her work and washed off the blood. She regarded the stitches and they looked pretty even and strong. Sadly, there wasn't any disinfecting cream so the water would have to do.

Satisfied, she moved to his legs, taking off the sneakers and socks. The feet were red and slightly bloated so she massaged them to return the blood flow in them. When they seemed to return to their normal color she removed the bindings and let Sei sink into her arms.

"Shh… you did great, _Sei_ …" She petted the damp hair and let him cry off the pain. The poor thing, she thought in pity and kissed his sweaty forehead. "I love you, _Sei_ …"

They stayed like this until Sei fell asleep. She rested him back against the backrest and inspected his hands. Luckily, the armrests were worse off than the palms so she left them be and just redressed the stitched cut. She then lied on the floor and fell asleep, too fatigued to care about a pillow.

* * *

The next day found two irritated teenagers inside the Gundam. It has been a day since they last ate anything. Everything that had happened distracted them, but now that they were calmly strolling across the sand the hunger came with vengeance.

Not to mention that they both had injuries on top of the hunger.

"When will we get there?" China stared at the screen, willing it to show the city.

"Like the last time you asked minus five minutes," Sei grumbled. He woke up in pain and the cool air was giving him headaches, and that was before he brought up the pangs of pain in his growling stomach.

"Are you saying that I'm annoying?" China gritted her teeth, which made him look at her blankly.

"A little bit, yes." China flushed, taken back by the unusual bluntness and hung her head down.

"Sorry, I just needed something to distract me."

"It's okay, sorry for snapping at you." Sei held her hand and she smiled. "I love you."

"I love you too." They had confessed to each other long ago, but it still was reassuring to say those words. Then suddenly she had an idea to distract them from the boredom. "Hey, remember that day you confessed?"

"How can I forget?" Sei's pale face colored slightly. "It was the most embarrassing day of my life.

* * *

 _Flashback :_

 _"Class rep?" Said brunette turned to a bright red faced blunet._

 _"Yes?" She smiled. She loved how the blush made him look so adorable, though she would never tell him that._

 _"D-do you w-want to-to go for a w-walk with m-me?" Sei stammered, fiddling nervously with his fingers._ _China_ _blushed and nodded. He brightened up and gently held her hand as they walked to the park._

 _When they arrived, they sat on one of the benches, still holding hands._ _China_ _looked at the teen next to her; he had really grown since he had won his first world tournament. He was taller than her and his hair was cut shorter, causing him to appear older. His eyes were still bright with innocence but the blue darkened slightly to navy blue which she secretly liked._

 _Lately, every time he would look at her with a smile she would feel her heart swell with happiness and love. Sei really knew how to make her melt and he didn't even realize how much power he held over her._

 _While_ _China_ _was thinking all of that Sei was looking at their intertwined fingers, trying to gather up his courage. He then thought back to how she would always look at him like he was a treasure to her and he suddenly felt calmer._

 _He looked up with resolve burning in his eyes, making_ _China_ _blink in confusion._

 _"_ _China_ _?" Her eyes widened, he had never called her by her given name. "Can I call you that?"_

 _"Of course!" She called, making Sei jump. "I've been telling you to call me that for ages, idiot."_

 _"Hehe, sorry." Sei rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, all traces of nervousness dissipating. "You really know how to calm me down…"_

 _"Hmm?"_

 _"I-I just have something important to tell you and I was all nervous but you calmed me down, so thank you."_

 _"No problem. Now, what is it?" She gazed into him with kind and loving eyes and he was drawn into them, forgetting how to speak._

 _"Sei?"_

 _Well, actions speak more than words, no?_

 _China_ _was shocked into a silence when she felt his lips on the side of her mouth. Than after a moment she started chuckling and Sei backed as if stung, slightly hurt. He was about to say something when she shushed him._

 _"I love you too," She said and kissed him properly._

 _End flashback._

* * *

"I can see it!" China called after what seemed an eternity and pointed to a green blob in the distance.

"But it's still an hour away plus we'll need to walk the last kilometer if we don't want people to see Build Strike and attack in fear of an invasion." It will be rough on them both, on him especially since a night was not nearly enough to even start healing from the stitches. But the thought of finding food and water made his mood brighten so he didn't give too much thought to that.

"I'll support you so don't worry." Sei smiled at that. He really is lucky to have her in his life. He doesn't know what he would have done without her.

China noticed his soft expression and smiled back. But then he turned to look at something to his right and she noticed something odd – some of the blue hair was stained with gold. He caught her staring and tilted his head in question.

"Do I have something on my face?"

She raised her hand and brushed the colored strands, unnervingly glad that the color flaked away easily. "You just had some paint on your hair."

* * *

They passed the hour sharing jokes and stories from their childhoods since they didn't have anything else to talk about from the top of their aching heads.

When they were twenty minutes (human walk) away from the city they searched for a large enough dune, in which they can hide the Gundam. At the end they found a reasonable one and set to work. When the Gundam was buried deep enough, they exited the cockpit carefully, minding Sei's wounds and shut down the Gundam.

They released a branch and sand rolled down to cover the giant machine. Then they uncovered a piece of metal – the same one Sei had been cut from – and wrapped a bloodied bandage around it.

They studied the area so they would be able to remember the hiding place. Then they turned and trekked down to the city.

* * *

"We're finally here!" Sei leaned on a tree, panting while holding his injured side. Ten minutes from the city trees begun appearing and gave them a soothing protection from the daylight (they saw no sun, which strengthened their theory of being in a space colony).

"Are you okay?"

"Y-yes. We should go if we want to get food. And water since we just finished the last bottle," He pushed himself from the tree and they continued to the stone gate looming before them.

To their surprise, the gate was simply a wide gap in the wall, which they could see people making their way around. The teenagers' eyes gleamed in hope and they quickly entered the town.

It was a beautiful place – old fashioned buildings decorated with many flowers and trees were separated by stone streets. Sei and China drunk in the scenery, their eyes large with glee and curiosity.

"I've never seen you two before." They turned to an old man behind a trolley of trinkets. He pointed at China, "And you're wearing such strange clothes." Then he pointed at Sei, "And you're covered with bandages. Are you from the inner city?"

The two exchanged surprised looks – he spoke Japanese? – Then they smiled and shook their heads. The old man frowned and his pale brown eyes narrowed. "Where are you from, then?"

"Sir," China gulped, she didn't like the way this old man was looking at them – as if they were out to kill him. "We don't know how we got here, but we're from Japan. Tokyo, to be exact. Would you be kind and tell us where we are?"

"Japan?! As in Earth?!" He exclaimed. People stopped and stared at them, some even murmured to each other.

"Ah… yes?" Sei flushed at the attention. "You mean we're not on earth anymore?"

"Of course not! You're in Arian of Colony 1!" The old man glared at them. "We rarely get any visitors, so I don't trust you. Who are you two really? And no lies about being from earth."

Arian?! The place Reiji said he came from?! Could it be? "W-we are telling you the truth! We were at home when this light appeared and then we found ourselves here."

"Do you really expect me to believe such fairy tales? I'm going to call the guards and you will pay for trying to spy on us." The old man started shouting for someone to come.

The duo exchanged panicked looks; they should run away. And fast. They turned on their heels and fled, ignoring the yells and curses thrown at them.

* * *

How did it end up like this? They stopped to breathe at a corner of an alley ten minutes later. Sei was heaving and coughing. China was holding her pounding head but still glanced at him worryingly.

We are hungry and dehydrated, she thought. Sei is still injured and the running could have torn up the stitches. The only option we have is to see if Reiji is indeed here and try to get someplace safe.

"I'm going to ask about Reiji, okay?" She saw the blunet nod weakly. "Just get some rest, I'll be right back." She walked back to the street and took off.

The houses in this area looked more like the buildings on earth and if she didn't know better she would have thought that they were back in Japan.

After rounding a house she saw two kids playing with two familiar white robots and she froze in shock – those were mocks. The ones they had fought in the fake A Baoa Qu two and a half years ago.

She approached them and smiled reassuringly when they looked at her innocently. She crouched by them and pointed at the mocks.

"Where did you get those?" She forced herself to seem calm and friendly even though she wanted to shake them for answers, to make them bring her to Reiji. She was tired, starved, light-headed, and just got chased away by a mad old man. Even for her, it was too much. She just wanted to lie down and sleep it away.

Fortunately the kids didn't notice her inner turmoil and simply pointed to the plaza. China followed their fingers to the center of the area, where a stand packed with blue boxes could be seen. Two very familiar people were giving away the toys.

President Mashita and the woman who held onto him when he disappeared.

She thanked the kids and hurried to the stand and stopped just before the two. The purple haired man looked up and smiled, "Do you wish a m—" He took a good look at her and blanched, his finger shaking as he pointed it at her. "Y-y-y-y-y-you!"

"You know me." Honestly? She was surprised.

"You're that kids' friend! I-I-I thought that I left you on earth!"

The brunette sighed for the umpteenth time that day. She **really** didn't have time for that. "I am, but I don't have time for explanations. Can you _please_ tell me if Reiji lives here? Sei needs help."

" **That boy** is here as well?!" Mashita looked like he was about to faint, which really angered her since she heard from Sei about his antics to kick them out of the tournament.

Before she snapped at him, the blonde woman interrupted. "As I understand, he is several hours ride from here, at the palace—"

Several hours ride?! Sei won't make it!

"— _But_ I can arrange a friend to get you to there, as an apology for all the trouble we gave you."

"Thank you so much, um…"

"Baker."

"Baker-san!" China bowed to her. Finally something was going their way. "I'm going to bring Sei." She turned and walked away hastily.

* * *

It was hard to say that Sei was happy to see the man who gave them so much grief but the traveling cloaks they gave them for blending in and the lift they got to the palace's grounds was a blessing indeed. Mashita and Baker didn't have much food but they did give them a loaf of bread and a cup of milk each.

To tell the truth, he was too hungry and tired to hold grudges so he simply nibbled at the bread until they fell asleep.

They slept the whole way and felt slightly refreshed when they climbed down from the cart. They thanked the driver and neared the main gates.

"China?"

"Hmm?"

"I don't feel so good," Sei wasn't holding his injury this time, but rather his stomach. His face was crossed between pained and nauseous. China but her lip in frustration, they are almost there and now this.

"We're almost there, so hold on." She knocked on the wooden doors.

A slot opened and bored eyes peered out. "State your business."

"U-uh… we would like to speak with Reiji?"

The reply was a raised eyebrow. "To the prince?" They nodded and jumped when he started laughing. "That's a good one. What you kiddies want to speak to the prince about?"

"We are his friends." China flushed in embarrassment and anger. "If you tell him that Iori Sei and Kousaka China are here to see him, I'm sure he'll ask to see us."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," He waved them off. "Just go back to your mommy."

"With all due respect—"

"What's going on?" The eyes closed in annoyance and then they were replaced with hair as the guard looked behind him.

"Just some kids claiming that they know the prince."

"Oh?" The door opened to reveal a tall, strong-built man in his early thirties. His handsome angular face was framed with dark brown hair and stubble. Dark green eyes studied them under furrowed brows. "Who are you two?"

"Iori Sei and Kousaka China, sir."

"I see. Wait a moment," The man turned and yelled, "Inform the prince that he has guests."

"But sir-"

" **Now!** " Grumbles followed by footsteps echoed from behind the door and the man snorted. "He never learns." He then turned to them and beckoned them to come inside. While they entered he smiled, "It has been a while since visitors came last. I'm sure the prince would be happy to see you."

"Thank you." They stared at awe at the scenery opened before them; the way to the castle was decorated with six blocks of yellow and purple followed by a row of red, lavender and yellow flowerbeds and small circular ponds. Smalls rectangles of trees and long lines of arches framed the flowerbeds. All of this led to stairs going up to a beautiful stone palace the spread to its sides, making it seems more like a series of dome turrets and arches than a castle. The scene seemed to come out of a fairy tale.

"It's beautiful."

"I know," The man laughed. "By the way, I'm Gabriel but call me Gabe."

"Nice to meet you, Gabriel-san," They said in unison. Then they noticed their blunder and blushed. Gabriel laughed again.

"I like you two, but no need for formalities. Sit here," He showed them to a bench. Sei and China sat on it and sighed in relief.

Soon their journey would come to an end and they would be able to rest their weary bodies.

Then Sei bent over and brought up the bread and milk from before. China immediately held the deathly pale-faced teen and kept the hair away as he brought up more bile. Gabriel grabbed a bottle of water and a towel.

"Is he sick?" He asked, concern heavy in his voice, the first one since they landed here.

China shook her head. "We had a long journey and haven't eaten anything in two days. I guess the bread today didn't agree with him."

"I see… he should drink."

"Thank you." She brushed a sweaty bang aside. She then neared her face to Sei's, "How do you feel?"

"I'm fine…" But he wasn't. Sei didn't tell her, but the running then the bumping in the cart had ripped his stitches and now he could feel the pain spike up while his blood soaked into the bandages which the cloak thankfully hid. He didn't want to worry China so he didn't mention it. He'll just wait until they settle for the night to take care of it.

"Sir!" The same guard from before had returned with a shocked expression on his face. "I have informed lady Aila and she asked me to bring them in right away."

"Aila-san is here?" China asked joyfully. Sei smiled faintly. "Remember when she disappeared right after Reiji? I think she used the Arista I gave her to join him."

Gabriel looked at them in confusion but didn't ask them as he led them through the spacious place to the enormous palace.

"Welcome to Arian Palace," Gabriel said with the utmost respect in his voice.

"It's good to be here," China replied earnestly. Sei simply nodded, too wound up now to reply.

They climbed the stairs and entered the front doors. They passed through dark red walled corridors adorned with illustrated tapestries and shining ornaments until they stood in front of another set of doors.

Sei was really beginning to hate doors.

Gabriel pushed the doors open and twin cries of happiness echoed in Sei's tired head.

"Sei! Is that really you!?" "China!"

"Reiji-kun! Aila-san!" China smiled as if a heavy load was lifted off her shoulders. "Sei, we're finally safe!"

"…"

"Sei?" Reiji neared the slightly swaying unresponsive teen. Sei looked up at him, smiled in utmost relief and collapsed onto the floor.

"Sei!" China caught him before he face-planted on the floor. She felt a wet substance and quickly removed the cloak to discover the bloodied bandages. There was more blood than before. There was blood on her hands and Sei was turning paler by the second. Everything stilled around her as she called his name again and again, the last threads of common sense fraying away.

This cannot be… they should have been safe. Sei shouldn't be dying. Not now. Not ever!

Then everything moved again but it was all too blurry for her brain to register anything out of Sei. She barely heard Reiji bark orders and crouch by her, she just didn't care.

But when he tried to pry her beloved from her, she reacted.

"No! Don't take him!" She screamed, curling around the unconscious blunet and snarling as if she was a beast. The lack of water and food plus the hysteria had made her delirious and fueled by despair she could only see the people around them as menacing shadows trying to take Sei away into their mangled hands.

A prick in her neck made her jump and look up in alarm. But it was too late. She felt her eyes grow heavier and she finally collapsed on the floor as darkness claimed her.


	4. The Usual Shenanigans

THANK YOU **GUARDIAN OF LIGHT LIGHTUS** FOR REVIEWING ON THE STORY AGAIN!

enjoy and do review please.

DISCLAIMER: i do not own GBF. the plot and the original characters are mine

 **note: sei and china use japanese honorifics while arian people use english honorifics. just to emphasize that despite both places speak japanese, that there is a difference.**

* * *

 _Last on 'When Innocence Dies' :_

 _"No! Don't take him!" China screamed, curling around the unconscious blunet and snarling as if she was a beast. The lack of water and food plus the hysteria had made her delirious and fueled by despair she could only see the people around them as menacing shadows trying to take Sei away into their mangled hands._

 _A prick in her neck made her jump and look up in alarm. But it was too late. She felt her eyes grow heavier and she finally collapsed on the floor as darkness claimed her._

* * *

Chapter 3 \- The Usual Shenanigans

* * *

When she regained consciousness, her vision was blurry and everything ached. _E_ _specially her head_. She placed a hand on her forehead to find a cool cloth placed over bandages, but the bump was still noticeable.

The hand fell back on the blanket and she then noticed how the soft the bed was, the softest she had ever slept on – but considering the fact that she was sleeping on metal and wood those past two days she could be biased.

What happened to her? The last thing she can remember was seeing Reiji and Aila. She greeted them and then Sei collapsed…

 **Sei!**

She shot up from the bed and looked around frantically, her heart beating quickly. She was alone in the room. Sei wasn't there! Where is he? She removed the blanket and placed her feet on the carpet, giving a fleeting thought about its softness, and pushed herself upright.

Or at least she intended to. Instead, she fell onto the floor the minute her legs straightened. She hissed in pain and collected her sprawled form and slowly, using the bed and wall, brought herself back on her feet. She then leaned on the wall, using it as leverage for her unsteady legs.

She felt light-headed and her face was burning up, but she still placed one foot after the other and prayed that she has enough strength to find Sei before she collapsed again.

Move, legs, _move!_ Sei is hurt. He is dying because she didn't pay enough attention to his pain. Why didn't he tell her his stitches had popped? Didn't he trust her?

The door was unlocked so it was fairly easy to open it and slip through it to the hall. China at this point couldn't care less about being in Arian or that they had finally reunited with Aila and Reiji. All she could think about was the fact that some strange earthquake and a burst of light had kidnapped them from their world and endangered Sei's life.

Two sets of footsteps around the corner made her stop and ready herself for an escape, not noticing the shadow closing in behind her.

A man in a white robe and a familiar redhead appeared from around the corner. They seemed to be arguing.

"-heal him—China?" Reiji jumped when she saw her. She ignored him, using the surprise to walk backwards. "China, wait—" She spun on her feet and slammed into someone. They both fell on the floor. China looked up to see that it was Aila.

She tried to stop the dizziness, but the silver haired girl recovered faster and restrained the brunette as she tried to wriggle free.

"Let me go! He's hurt- Sei!"

"China calm down!" Aila grabbed the girl's shoulders and forced her to look at her. "Sei is _fine._ He's stable and the doctor stitched back his wound. Now breathe! I'll bring you to him."

China swallowed down a lump that formed in her throat. Sei is fine. Sei is alive. She can go see him now. Everything that she was suppressing came flooding back and she found herself sobbing like a child in Aila's arms.

Aila let her pour everything out, a sad frown pulling her lips down. She gazed up and saw Reiji's mouth pressed into a thin line, bangs hiding his eyes.

Slowly China's tears slowed down until they completely stopped and she calmed down, feeling empty and exhausted. Aila brought her to her feet, supporting her weak legs. "You want to go see Sei now?"

" _Please._ "

* * *

The doctor, named Dr. Chusuke, was a man of average height with light brown hair cut very short and brown kind eyes. He wore the classic white garb of physicians and square glasses perched on his nose.

Currently, he was leading them to a room in the hall next to the one China had woken up in.

While they were walking, Reiji thought back to what had occurred after the brunette passed out.

* * *

 _Flashback:_

 _"_ _China_ _!" Aila rushed over to the girl but was stopped as Dr. Chusuke and his two helpers carried China and Sei to the back corridors, where the infirmary area stood._

 _He and Aila were escorted to the hall where Sei was being treated at. They sat on a bench, listening as they fought over Sei's life. The blood loss plus dehydration and the spike in anxiety had caused a cardiac arrest._

 _After they restored his heartbeat, they had to put him on three bags of blood before they could stitch him back and put him on strong antibiotics since the wound was infected._

 _Reiji had to hold himself from screaming and punching someone. Instead he punched the wall. It hurt._

 _"What are you doing, you idiot?" Aila snatched his hand and inspected his knuckles for bleeding, sighing in relief when they were only scrapes. Reiji ignored her, his blood still boiling. She noticed how the fists in her hands were shaking and she caressed them gently. He glanced up and she smiled softly. He then felt as if the wind was knocked out of him and his hands fell to his sides. He sighed and laid his head on her shoulder._

 _"I know it wasn't our fault, but—"_

 _"Since it's your world that harmed_ _China_ _and Sei so badly, you feel responsible."_

 _"I couldn't reach him in time. I couldn't prevent him from getting hurt. He could have—"_

 _"Died if you had lost your cool." Aila sighed. "Reiji… You didn't even know he was here until the guard came to inform us. Stop blaming yourself, okay?"_

 _"I'll try…"_

 _End flashback._

* * *

Now, as he followed the girls to the door, he couldn't help but wonder – since he didn't get a good look at Sei before everything happened he wondered how his friend would look. He imagined him like he looked back then when he was sleeping, maybe a bit paler, but nothing out of the ordinary.

That theory was crushed badly when he took a good look at Sei.

Aila and Dr. Chusuke had to restrain him from leaving or punching the wall. China didn't even notice the commotion as she sat by the bed and covered one hand with hers.

The blunet looked far older than sixteen years old with his sickly pale skin, the dark bags under his eyes, the oxygen mask covering half his face, and the red splotches on his cheeks. His blue hair stuck to his sweaty skin and he was breathing heavily. A brown blanket was pulled to his chest, covering his wound, but the fresh bandages peeked from the blanket, soft pink staining them.

Reiji released himself from his captors (after reassuring them that he won't do anything rash) and sat across China. He studied the familiar yet so strange person in front of him and noticed a white cloth on Sei's forehead. He was so pale that Reiji missed the cloth, something that made him shake in anger and Aila eyed him warily.

"Sei-kun…" He heard China inhale shakily and looked up to see her hold Sei's hand close to her heart. A glance into her scared but loving eyes told him everything he needed to know.

He cracked a smile, forcing a teasing tone. "Let me guess, he asked you out first?"

It took the girls a moment to register what he said.

"Wh-what?" China turned beet red and started stammering. Aila, on the other hand, scowled and smacked him across the head so hard he face-planted onto the bed.

"OW!" Reiji sat back up, rubbing his sore bump. He then glared at the Finnish girl. "You bastard… what was that for?"

"You're so inconsiderate!" Aila huffed and crossed her arms angrily. Seriously, that annoying childish… what did she fall for anyways? Oh yeah, his charm. She bristled at the confused and angry redhead, fighting down her blush.

China looked at them, half her focus on the blunet.

"I was just trying to cheer her up," Reiji grumbled. "And I _do_ want to know what was going on with my best friend in the last two and a half years."

"Well, if you had kept your promise you wouldn't be wondering." China couldn't help but mutter bitterly, making Reiji color in protest.

"Promise?" The Finnish narrowed her eyes at the prince in suspicion.

"He promised Sei-kun that they would see each other when he grows stronger." Oh… she meant that. Aila sighed in relief, confusing Reiji even more. But he had more pressing matters, like a very intimidating class rep.

Crap.

"Listen to me, I swear-" He proceeded to try and convince the brunette that he couldn't come to their world since the means to that was gone so he was stuck in Arian. No, he didn't desert Sei — he would never do that and would she let him finish!?

He was saved from a slap when Aila gasped. The arguing duo averted their attention to the wide eyed silverette.

"Aila-san?"

"Sei's hair…" The girl pointed at the blunette on the bed. All she could see of the boy was very familiar particles gathering around his hair. China and Reiji exchanged blank glances but understood what she was fussing about when they looked at the left side hair side-bang of the teen – it was stained with gold.

"Again?" China blinked. "But there isn't any gold paint around here."

"What do you mean?"

"When we where on our way here, Sei had paint like this one on the same area. I brushed it off and I didn't see any leftovers so how did it get back?"

"That's no paint," Aila said, her face darkened.

"Aila?"

"I can see them…" She continued. "Flowing out of his hair."

"You mean those particles?" Reiji immediately caught on to her meaning. Aila had told him about her ability to see the Plavsky Particles, which was how she managed to win so easily in her matches, so he knew what she meant by 'seeing them'.

"Yes. But…"

"But?"

"They're acting strangely…"

"How so?" He didn't like the sound of it.

"They're gathering around his hair, but it's more like he generates them…"

"Like an Arista?" Reiji raised an eyebrow.

"No… they feel wilder. Without a purpose. And they are glowing yellow as if they are active. I don't know… but one thing I'm sure of – I don't like this."

China reached out and tried to brush the color away, but the sweeping made the golden yellow spread further. Sei gave a distressed noise and China's hand backed off as if stung.

"Not good at all."

"Sei-kun…" The brunette's shoulders shook and she bit her lip to prevent herself from screaming in frustration. Why does it seem that the world is out to get him? First the earthquake, finding themselves in the desert, the injury and the Gundam… the light back then!

"That light!" She exclaimed.

"Light?" The other two questioned. She then explained everything that had happened since they had landed here. She also told them about the light particles Sei's hand emitted when he touched the keyboard and how the Gundam came to life from that.

Aila and Reiji had mirroring expressions of horror and curiosity. They had never heard of Gundam existing in this universe. But since Arian was outside of any conflict or war, they couldn't be depended on for that kind of information.

"I think we should go and search through it," Reiji said after a long moment of silence. "If there's a link between the Gundam to the strange behavior of the particles, I want to find it."

Besides, he can't shake off the feeling that if they leave it be, Sei will be in grave danger.

Aila peered at him suspiciously but nodded. China nodded as well but said that they'll have to wait until Sei wakes up since she is not leaving him like that.

They couldn't agree more, Reiji in particular.

* * *

It took two more days for Sei to wake up. By then the fever subsided and he was now on fluids alone. The strange color also dissipated, which made the trio relax a tad bit.

They were chatting by Sei's bedside when a groan made them pause and look at him with hopeful eyes. The blunet's eyes fluttered open to three teenagers staring at him with disbelief and happiness.

Where am I? He attempted to blink away the fuzziness in his mind. He remembers seeing Reiji and suddenly feeling all of his strength draining out of him and everything turning black. Did I pass out? China probably found out about the stitches then. I bet that she's furious with me, _I_ would be.

Reiji seems older than I remember, but I guess that it's a given, since it _has_ been more than two years.

Does Reiji know that I had won the world tournament? Perhaps we met again because I had grown stronger?

A ball of blue light caught his attention and his thought process was cut. He trailed it with his eyes as it danced in circles, leaving tails of light behind in many different scribbles. He felt that those drawings were important but his brain was too muddled to understand them. The light seemed to get impatient and vanished, leaving behind a sense of loss.

Then he noticed the mouths of Reiji and China moving, though no sound had come out.

Am I deaf now? _Great…_ first the injury from the Build Strike and now this. At least I left Cosmos in there like China suggested so it's safe. I really wanted to show it to Reiji though. China lost her hold on (model) when I covered her back home so she doesn't have it sadly. Wonder if she was taken care of. She was so exhausted I'm amazed she didn't collapse. Oh, China…

"…ei?" Ah, I can hear something. So I'm not deaf. What a relief. Is it Reiji or China though? Oh, there is Aila, she seems well. Older just like Reiji. Wonder if they had gotten together at the end. She did seem to be closer to him, more likely the exact copy of him but I won't tell them that. They do deserve happiness and they seem good together.

"Sei!" Okay, it's China, and she is angry. I should answer her before she snaps at me. She is really scary sometimes. Aila is like that as well so are girls like this overall?

"Oy!" Oh right, should answer.

"What?" Deja-vu much? My throat hurts so much. I would curse but then mom would hit me. Reiji had really rubbed off on me, even if it's two years later.

"Are you listening?" No, but I just woke up and I can't really focus, give the guy a break.

"No." Oops, did I say that out loud? What is the matter with me? I should know better than to talk like that. Am I becoming a delinquent? I sure hope not.

"I think he's still half-asleep." No, I'm very much aware, but I'm not in the mood to talk to you.

What. Am. _I_. **thinking!?** **Stop it** , Iori Sei, what _is_ the matter with you today? Is that the way to treat your friends you longed to see for such a long time?

"Call the doctor." There are doctors in space kingdom? Cool! I wonder if they have real Gundams like the one we found. If they do, I really want to talk to the manufacturer, maybe even build one myself! I can't wait! Well, step one, apologize for my rudeness.

"Sorry." Now they look sad. Why? What did I do wrong this time?

"It's not your fault." Ah, yes it is. I was rude to your guys. "You just didn't want me to worry. I forgive you."

I'm confused. How am I being rude has to do with worrying you?

"Forgive me for being rude?" And now _they_ are the ones confused. I see we're not communicating here properly.

"Rude?"

"I wasn't listening…"

"Oh." She is laughing at me. Now _you_ are the rude one. "It's okay. Sorry for laughing."

"It's okay…" She is cute all smiley after all.

The ball of light appeared again. He seems frantic. What's wrong with it? The blue light froze on its tracks and it seemed to turn to him, light pulsing golden yellow. Is that a warning? He looked at the light trail it left and felt the blood drain from his face.

It read _'You're hunted'_

* * *

China didn't like the glazed stare Sei's eyes held. It was like he wasn't even there even though he was physically. When he did communicate with them he didn't make any sense. Then his eyes looked at something behind them and they suddenly refocused and his white face paled even further.

"Sei-kun?" She really starts to feel like a broken record. Sei jumped and finally their eyes met.

"China, did you get any rest?" He said with an edge to his voice. What did he see that made him pale like that? She turned to look at the spot but saw nothing.

Chalking it up to nightmares, she smiled at him. "I slept well. It has been two days since we came here after all."

Now he looked horrified. "You mean that I was sleeping for _two **whole** days_?"

"Exactly." The couple turned to a grinning relieved Reiji. "You gave me a heart attack when you suddenly fainted in front of me. I mean, I know I'm handsome and all, but no need to be so dramatic."

"Reiji!" China exclaimed as Sei laughed and Reiji smiled, eyes softening at his best friend.

"It has been a long time," The redhead muttered.

"It has," Sei placed a hand on his arm. "I'm so glad to see you again, Reiji."

"You said it! Man, I have so much to tell you. China had told me you had won the world tournament by yourself. I told you that you have the skill for that!" Reiji ruffled the blue hair.

"Reiji, Reiji, calm down," Sei laughed nervously, fearful for his hair. "I'm not going anywhere."

Yet.

The redhead clasped his mouth shut. Then he raised a hand. Sei's eyes blinked back tears, then he smiled warmly and raised his own.

"Congratulations on winning the world tournament, partner."

"Thank you." They high-fived, grinning brightly at each other. China looked at them and sighed fondly.

"Boys."

* * *

After Aila brought the doctor, Sei was subjected to an hour-long of examinations which he grumbled his distaste loudly the entire time. Reiji was in hysterics as Sei had to unravel his bandages but was too embarrassed because the girls were in the room. China pointed out that she was the one who bandaged him the first time, which made the blunet bury his face in his hands and Reiji to laugh harder.

The wound was still gruesome to the sight. Because of the poor treatment (China was offended at that. The doctor had to apologize and clarify that the material was poor, not the treatment) and the ripped stitches, it will leave a nasty scar.

Sei wrinkled his nose at that, but Reiji said that now he has something to woo the ladies with.

A second later, twin red marks of palms throbbed on his face and the satisfied girls high-fived. Sei sighed at his best friend's lack of tact, a smile etched into his face nonetheless.

After the examination, they were served dinner in the room, Aila and Reiji devouring most of the meal while China and Sei were laughing at their blissful expressions.

All was well until the Arian couple touched simultaneously the last piece of dumpling.

"Reiji," Aila said sweetly. "I touched this first so it's mine."

"What are you talking about?" Reiji retorted, not noticing the panicked flailing of Sei and China. "It's mine, I saw it first."

"Didn't you hear of the phrase 'ladies first'?"

"You're not getting away with that lame excuse this time!"

Sparks flew as they glared at each other and to avoid any bloodshed. Sei deadpanned and stole the last dumpling and cut it to two, presenting each with a half. The Arian duo looked at him as if he had murdered someone.

"What? No need to fight if you share." Sei sweatdropped. He was so screwed…

"Hmph, I'll forgive you just because you're injured," Aila grumbled and took her share. Reiji glared at the poor blunette, but ate his share quietly. The earth couple sighed in relief, they had avoided an apocalypse.

After everything settled down and the Arian couple was in speaking terms again, they decided on heading to the Gundam the next day. The blunette was not happy with the decision since he was the one left behind. China simply smiled at him and squeezed his hand in reassurance that they'll come back.

Reiji bit down a smart-aleck response when Aila stepped on his foot and glared at him in warning. Geez, that woman is scary.

At that moment, a servant entered the room and bowed to them. "His majesty says that you should head to bed since it is already late."

The prince smiled and thanked her. After she left he stood up and stretched. "Ah~! That was good. Aila, you and China can go to your room. I'm crashing here for the night."

"You sure?" Aila ignored the order and eyed China, who suddenly seemed very nervous.

"Of course! I need some men talk and you can have your can have your girl talk in peace now that Sei is awake."

Aila rolled her eyes but nodded, knowing that he wasn't implying anything derogatory and dragged away the protesting brunette.

Sei waved them goodnight and slumped into the pillow the moment the door was closed. Reiji looked at him and sighed, sprawling over a second bed. "You know, it won't make China worry any less if you hide it."

"I'm sorry." Sei took a deep breath and hissed in pain.

"Don't be. I get it."

"Thank you… for saving us." Sei held his covered stitches, breath erratic as he tried to reign in the pain. The morphine wore off an hour ago and it felt like he was being stabbed with white-hot iron saws. Sweat ran down his body as he calmed down. Reiji took a wet rag from a basin and wiped his face and neck with it. Sei sighed from the relief it provided.

"I'm just glad that you made it here before it was too late." You'll never understand how terrified I was when I had realized that you might not make it alive. How I was crying like a baby when I was told that you'll live. Even my own father had never seen me cry like that. Perhaps that's why he didn't bug him about his deserted duties.

"That reminds me – want to meet my dad tomorrow?"

Sei blinked at him as if he had completely forgotten that he was there. Reiji pouted but waited for him to answer.

"I never imagined you with a father," He confessed sheepishly. "I always saw you as an independent guy with no family."

"Well, he did give me a free reign over my actions when I was thirteen, a year before I met you. My mom is at her father's house. My parents aren't together anymore."

"I'm sorry."

"Nah, it has been years since then. I guess your mom just reminded me of her."

"She misses you, you know? Goes on rants on how you are the only one who appreciates her cooking." Reiji chuckled. "We miss you at home. It's too quiet."

"Then I promise to find a way back home." Reiji grinned widely.

And with that, they went to sleep with serene smiles.


	5. Gundam - coincidence or not?

THANK YOU **GUARDIAN OF LIGHT LIGHTUS** AND **BERRY DOYLE** FOR REVIEWING ON THE STORY!

enjoy and do review please.

DISCLAIMER: i do not own GBF. the plot and the original characters are mine

just noticed that my story goes really, really, fast. should i slow it...? but it's too late. oh well, who cares? *shrugs*

 **note: sei and china use japanese honorifics while arian people use english honorifics. just to emphasize that despite both places speak japanese, that there is a difference.**

* * *

 _Last on 'When Innocence Dies' :_

 _"I'm sorry," Sei said._

 _"Nah, it has been years since then. I guess your mom just reminded me of her."_

 _"She misses you, you know? Goes on rants on how you are the only one who appreciates her cooking." Reiji chuckled. "We miss you at home. It's too quiet."_

 _"Then I promise to find a way back home." Reiji grinned widely._

 _And with that, they went to sleep with serene smiles._

* * *

Chapter 4 \- Gundam - coincidence or not?

* * *

"Listen to what Dr. Chusuke says, okay?" China fussed over a very bemused blunet. Reiji and Aila were holding back laughter while Sei's face turned to a near purplish red color.

The trio was about to head out to the Gundam hideout in secret. They didn't want people finding out about the Gundam if they follow them so they would take a cart to the place where Baker and Mashita live and then trek the way to the dune. Gabriel (who was happy to hear that they are well) would escort them to the outskirts of the kingdom and then await their return by the wall.

They were the ones traveling but China was more worried about the safety of Sei, which resulted in this particular scene.

"For the last time, China, I'm not going out of my bed today _nor_ tomorrow so **relax**! I have one mom already, I don't need another one. I only ask you to get Cosmos, okay?"

China huffed but released him, much to his relief.

Sei waved them goodbye and lied back on the bed, eyeing the doctor. The man smiled and inserted a liquid into his infusion. A moment later he dozed off, the pain subsiding.

* * *

Later in the afternoon he woke up to a knock on the door. He yawned and called 'come on in'. The door opened to reveal a man in his early forties with a shock of long dark red hair paired with sharp golden eyes. Right away Sei knew who this man was and straightened up, bowing his head to him.

"Please don't." The man had a low baritone tone but it was light and friendly. "You're my son's friend, no need for formalities." Sei looked up at the smiling man and shrugged. Reiji's father sat by his bed and extended his hand. The blunet smiled and shook the firm calloused hand.

"I'm Iori Sei. It is a pleasure to meet you, Reiji's father."

"You can call me Amon. I'm so happy to finally meet the boy my son had been talking about for the past two years." Gold eyes sparkled in interest and Sei chuckled at the similarity between the father and son. "I have to admit – how do you handle my son without going insane I will never know. Teach me your secret."

"I'm asking myself that same question every single day, Amon-san," Sei smirked and the man laughed a deep laugh.

"I knew my son had a reason for befriending you."

"Actually, it was because of a very angry salesman."

"Oh?" His thick dark red brows rose high. "I'm curious to know." Sei nodded mischievously and told him everything that had happened from his point of view. Amon laughed a lot but otherwise kept his quiet, the complete opposite of Reiji.

At the end they ate lunch together while Amon told the teen many stories about Reiji's childhood and the two years period after the world tournament. It was clear how he was proud of his son even when he made jokes about him and teasing the fact that a marriage will be held soon. Sei laughed and remembered the one time he came back to see his mom and best friend laughing over open albums.

Payback, he thought evilly.

When the pain came back Amon left and let Dr. Chusuke clean his stitches and inject more morphine. Sei slipped under shortly after, satisfied.

* * *

He woke up in the middle of the night with a distinct feeling that something was calling him. He sat up and scanned the room for the intruder.

Orbs of blue light floated around him, jumping occasionally and flickering as if in a dance. Sei watched them, transfixed and his body buzzed in excitement, wanting to join the ethereal dance.

He removed the blankets and carefully placed his feet o the floor. Two lights went behind him and suddenly he felt something push him upright. He stumbled and leaned on the wall for support but for some reason he felt like he was floating. He didn't feel any pain.

The lights kept pushing him and he allowed them to lead him out of the room and across the halls until they came to a bottom of a staircase. They stopped and he looked up to see big familiar doors in front of him.

Why am I in front of the main entrance? Are we going out? His attention returned to the lights as they flew to the knob and circled around it, their color slightly darker blue than before.

Sei rolled his eyes at their enthusiasm and suddenly as if snapping from a daydream he realized that he was back in his bed, hand reaching for the ceiling.

Was that a dream? Am I going insane? Sei shook his head. Probably am going crazy from being cooped up in bed for so long. He closed his eyes and fell back asleep.

Unnoticed by him a soft golden yellow aura glowed around his body.

* * *

"This is the place." China pointed at a dune, from which a half concealed bloodied rag fluttered. The wind had swept the sand around so it took more time than planned to find the correct place.

"I don't like the fact that Sei's blood helped us," Reiji grumbled as they removed the sand. His bad mood vanished the moment they had uncovered the Gundam.

It was the Build Strike! And the first version, none the less. It was the one he held for his first fight on the wish of Sei. The one that brought him into the amazing world of Gunpla. The one Sei worked on and upgraded so they could go against Yuuki Tatsuya and enter the world tournament.

It was one that was filled with many memories and adventures.

"It looks an awful lot like Star Build Strike, only much plainer," Aila pointed out.

"Well… it _is_ the first version of Build Strike."

"I see… but isn't that Sei's invention? What is it doing here? Not to mention that we never heard of life-size Gundam in Arian—"

"You have a point," China muttered to herself.

"—besides," The Finnish placed a hand on the white metal surface, "I think that there are too many 'coincidences' for it to _not_ be connected."

"You mean that somebody out there brought us here." Someone that has no regards on hurting Sei. Someone that wanted them to find and use that Gundam.

So it wasn't luck that it had liquid water and a nearly fully packed first-aid kit (she had a bad feeling that the cleansing alcohol was intentionally misplaced).

She clenched her fists, someone had the nerve to rip them away from their world and drag them here for no apparent reason.

"Where is that bastard so I can rip him apart?" It seems that Reiji and she had the same train of thought.

But the most important question is why? Aila pondered about China's deduction as she tracked the dent and opened the cockpit. Then she crawled inside and started searching for anything amiss, not noticing a suspicious looking bulge on the corner.

"Anything yet?" Reiji called, still a bit angry. "We need to find Cosmos."

"Don't rush me!" She snapped and slipped, hitting her shoulder on the bulge. The panels slid close and she was plunged into darkness.

"Aila!" Reiji cried and she could hear him banging on the metal. "Damn it, it's not opening. Aila!"

The silver-head groaned, rubbing her sore shoulder. "I'm fine! But it's too dark to see anything."

"Try taking out the keyboard and place your hand on it like I told you before. It should be in a hole on the left."

"Okay." Aila climbed carefully into the chair and probed the left-side space. She found the socket and slid out the board, but nothing happened when she touched it – no light or anything else.

"Are you sure it is supposed to work like that?"

"Positive! Screens are supposed to pop up. It's not working?" China sounded worried. Aila couldn't blame her – why something that Sei apparently could activate so easily wouldn't respond her?

A familiar flow of blue particles caught her eye and she turned her attention to the empty panel, which suddenly was lit with the particles as they fell like snow on it.

Slowly the particles formed a sentence, but she had to squint to understand what it said.

Then a loud gasp left her jaw slack mouth.

"What's wrong?" The bangs returned with vigor. Aila was too preoccupied to get angry.

"We have to go back! They're after Sei!" She called. Then everything lit up all of the sudden and she saw the light flow circle a belt with a box attached to it, Sei's Cosmos!

She snatched it and the panels opened again to reveal two pale faces.

They took off after reburying the Gundam in sand, their hearts beating frantically in their chests.

They have to see Sei.

* * *

"Where is Sei!?" Reiji demanded the minute his foot passed the palace's door.

Even though it was after sunset when they trio arrived back at the town, they only allowed themselves three hours of sleep and a hurried meal before Gabriel drove them back on the cart to the palace. It was no wonder then that they were restless and irritated.

The doctor could easily see that the prince was _not_ in the mood for any more delays.

"He's at his room, your highness. I was just about to check on him myself," He said calmly as they walked toward Sei's room. Well… _he_ was walking. The others were running ahead of him, too anxious to wait for him.

"That reminds me," He tapped his finger on his chin calmly when they arrived at the door. "He was talking to his Majesty all day. It seems that they became really close."

Despite himself, Reiji groaned and hid his burning face, worry momentarily gone. His father loved telling embarrassing stories about him and it always ended up in him being giggled at for the rest of his life.

The doctor smiled and opened the door to reveal a still sleeping Sei with a smile dancing on his lips.

The trio sighed in relief. Sei was safe. Dr. Chusuke chuckled and gently shook the sleeping patient.

"Mr. Sei, your friends are here." Sei frowned and whined sleepily as he weakly slapped the hand away and buried himself deeper into the covers. China and Aila snorted while Reiji laughed loudly.

Sei jumped at the outburst and sat up, looking with half-lidded eyes around him. Reiji held his stomach as the laughs grew in volume. Finally the blue eyes focused on the redhead and widened.

"Reiji!" He called happily, his face slightly flushed. "You're back!"

The slightly slurred voice shut Reiji up and he raised a brow. "Are you okay?"

Sei blinked and started giggling. "Of course I am, silly Reiji. You've no idea how much blackmail your father gave me." He spread his arms as wide as he could. " _Thi~s_ much!"

Now the trio looked at the bewildered doctor.

"What did my dad made him drink?"

"N-nothing! He was fine when he went to sleep. His Majesty wasn't allowed to bring any wine into the room. Perhaps the painkillers? But he didn't react to them like that before…"

"Hey, don't talk like I'm not here~" Sei drawled and flung the covers to the floor, his face completely red now. "Let me in too~"

"Sei, what are you doing?" China grabbed the blankets and made to put them back on his. Sei shook his head and pushed the blankets away from him.

"It's hot~! And I've been cooped up in here for… for…" He paused and tried to count on his fingers but ended up with swirling eyes as he comically fell back to the bed.

China placed a hand on his cheek and deflated – it was burning hot.

"You're burning up!"

"Your hand is so cool." Sei snuggled into her hand and then looked at her face and smiled widely. "You're so beautiful~ I'm so lucky… marry me?"

China turned beet red from head to toe and smoke rose from her face. Reiji was nearly on the floor in hysterics.

"Sei! What did you drink last night?"

Sei grinned innocently. "Water~ Amon said that I need water or else Reiji would kill him."

"Amon?"

Reiji groaned. "My old man."

"He's so nice~" Sei continued. "When the pain came back he left so I could go to sleep." Then he clasped his hands as if he remembered something. "I woke up from a light show, it was really pretty~"

"Light show?" Aila asked and looked at Dr. Chusuke, who was at loss as much as them.

"Yep! Small balls of light led me to the big doors. Guess they wanted to go on a walk."

"You went out of your bed?!"

"No. silly, it was a dream." The others sweatdropped at the cheery aura around the drunk teen. Reiji was reminded of Rinko and felt a shudder. Drunk Sei was freaking him out.

"You're not making any sense. What made you drunk?" China called in exasperation.

"Oh, you should have just asked." Sei shrugged, still smiling.

"Then?"

"I have absolutely no idea." The drunken blunet was reduced to a fit of giggles.

Reiji was really starting to hate Drunk Sei. Aila had to leave the room in fear of hitting something and China simply stared helplessly into space.

"Ooh~!" In a blink of an eye Sei jumped from the bed and crouched in front of the forgotten belt and container. "Is that my Cosmos?"

"You shouldn't be out of the bed," The doctor was a bit frantic. Sei simply looked at him in a deadpan before he returned to the container and fished out the Gunpla.

"Ah… my Gunpla…" No one noticed it, but the model started glowing up and Sei's eyes cleared.

But he had one moment of clarity before Reiji sighed and plucked it from his hands, probably out of worry that he would ruin it. But the second Cosmos left his hands, Sei's eyes closed and he collapsed onto the floor.

"Sei!" Reiji turned the boy on his back only to back off when some of his hair was once again painted golden yellow. But this time the painted hair locks were glowing and thin lines stretched over the teen's left face.

"What the—?"

China swiped her fingers over one of the lines and felt a strong electrifying buzz go through her. She held her head and leaned back on the wall, head swirling. "I-I can see why he was acting so strange. My head feel dizzy. What is this?"

The doctor helped her to the bed, eyes calculating and speculating. She stared from her place at Sei worriedly.

"Call Aila in and then leave us." Reiji ordered Dr. Chusuke, eyes not straying away from the teen as he picked him up and placed him back on the bed.

Aila walked inside and he beckoned her to his side. She approached them with wariness.

"What is it?"

"Can you tell me what is this?" He pointed at Sei's face. Aila scanned the glowing hair and lines and after a moment asked for the Gunpla. Confused, he complied and she placed it on Sei's chest. Suddenly the lines and the color slithered to where the Gunpla rested and covered it, slowly soaking into it.

Then the model twitched and begun moving until it was standing on its own.

What just happened? Is it a dream? "Aila, **_what the hell did you do_**?"

"The light is an active stream of active particles. I guess that being filled with them caused him to get drunk on it."

"Let me rephrase my question – what the hell are they doing **_inside_** Sei!?"

"Remember when his hair turned the same color before? I told you then that it was as if he generates them."

"Right…" I didn't believe you then and I _still_ don't, Reiji frowned at the Gunpla. It was a beautiful piece, he had to admit, but it unnerved him to see it moving without any machine's help.

China spoke up, which made the two jump since they had forgotten about her. "Is that why we were brought here?"

"Huh?"

She looked a bit bemused. "I asked if that's why we were brought here."

"…It's possible. But I don't like this possibility."

None of us, she thought, but that's the only logical explanation as to why they are here. I sure hope that we'll be able to solve this safely and quickly, I really want to go home now…

"I really, _really_ wish it was only a dream…"

"Yeah…"

Aila had enough of the somber atmosphere and placed her hands on her hips. "Okay, stop it!" Two blank faces faced her. "You guys need to stop thinking so pessimistically. Sei is the one who is most affected by it. Not to mention that he is currently being targeted, so he needs our focus. If we won't protect him, who will? And on that note – we need to eat something."

Reiji's face lit up at the mention of food. China just sighed and nodded, smiling faintly. Aila nodded in satisfaction and went to get food.

* * *

One messy meal later the trio separated to go sleep since they were exhausted from their trip. Aila and China went to their room while Reiji stayed in Sei's.

They were not looking forward to tomorrow.

* * *

Sei woke up at sunset to his best friend snoring on the second bed. He blinked in surprise – he didn't know they had arrived back. He smiled but then held his head when a spike of pain hit him. Why does it feel like he had hit his head or something?

He cursed his bad luck and looked at Reiji again to make sure he was sleeping before he removed his blankets, noticing too late the Gunpla as it fell to the floor. Sei's eyes widened in surprise and he bent down to retrieve the little model, cupping it gently and bringing it close to him.

He fought back tears as he held the only connection to his world. Build Strike Cosmos was his last line of sanity. He gently placed it on his desk and pushed himself up, happy to notice that he didn't need the wall for support.

Actually, he felt much stronger than before. He didn't question it as he slowly padded to the door and quietly snuck outside.

He felt like he should return to his bed, but a small trail of dark blue glowing dust formed from where he stood to someplace away from him, twisting until it disappeared around the corner. He quickly gave chase to it, not giving second thoughts to how he could run with his injury, until he reached the main doors like in his dream.

He stopped to regain his breath, his body suddenly feeling sluggish. But the blue light continued beyond the door – he must find its source.

He reached out for the door when a hand clasped over his shoulder. Sei let out a loud shriek, and the hand retracted away immediately.

"Ouch! Are you trying to scream my ear off?" It was Reiji. Sei breathed in relief, placing his hand over his racing heart as he turned to glare at the redhead who was clutching his ears.

"You gave me a heart attack!"

"You gave **_me_** a heart attack when I woke up to see you exiting the room. You need to be in bed, resting. Not going outside. Especially after that drunk fit you had."

"…I…"

"You?"

"I just needed some air, okay? And what do you mean by 'drunk'?" Sei grumbled and leaned against the wall, feeling very fatigued all of the sudden. Reiji noticed his weariness and sighed, running a hand in his hair and sticking his other in his pocket.

"Look, I'm not going to ask why you did that—" Too late for that "—but I am going to bring you to bed and I'll ask the Doc tomorrow if you can go outside. Please don't wander off by yourself, you're in danger."

So I've been told. By strange blue particles nonetheless, Sei thought glumly. "I don't know what came over me, but I felt compelled to go out…"

Reiji eyed him. "To gain freedom?"

Sei shook his head and all of the sudden his body started shivering as he recalled how the light danced, lulling him away from his bed to the outside. What would have happened if had opened the door?

"Sei?" Warm arms supported him and he gritted his teeth. What a fool he was! He could have walked into a trap and get himself hurt or worse, the others. The particles from before were warning him from being hunted. Did he really think that it was only going to be aggressive hunting?

"I had a dream last night…" Reiji blinked and opened his mouth to say something, but then decided against it and closed it. Sei was grateful for that – he didn't want to be interrupted.

"I went to sleep after I talked to Amon and woke up with a feeling that someone was calling me. So I opened my eyes to see those balls of light dancing around in this elegant dance. It was so beautiful and I really wanted to be part of it so I stood up with the help of two of those spheres and suddenly I was walking all the way to here in a kind of daze?

Anyways… I stood here and the lights circled around the knob, almost eagerly. I rolled my eyes and all of the sudden found myself back in my bed with my hand reaching the ceiling."

Reiji's hold tightened and Sei looked up to see golden eyes narrowed in rage. He lowered his head in shame. "I'm sorry. I guess I was curious and it really reminded me of my dream."

"I'm not angry at you, Sei." Reiji sighed and left it at that. His arms pulled the Blunet across the halls back to their shared room.

Back in the room, Sei sat on the bed and stared at Reiji as he flopped on his bed. After a long awkward minute, the redhead growled and rubbed his sleepy eyes.

"Look, Sei, as I said – I'm not angry. I'm worried about you, that's all."

"I know…"

"You do realize that finding Build Strike wasn't a miracle but someone's plan?" Blue eyes widened and Sei gritted his teeth.

"I wasn't really thinking at that time."

"True. But then again, when do you?" Reiji grinned at him.

"Talking from experience?" Sei retorted back, grinning back.

"Touché." They laughed. Sei lied back on the bed and inhaled deeply.

"Hey, Reiji?"

"Yeah?"

"Am I… normal?"

"What do you mean?" Gold eyes looked up in surprise at the unusual question.

"I mean… am I still… human?"

"Of course you are. What the hell has gotten into you?" The older teen huffed. "You just happened to have Plavsky Particles radiator inside of you."

Sei chuckled. "When you put it that way it does sound somewhat silly."

"It _is_ silly. All we need to do is find out why you have particles flowing out of you and then who brought you here." Reiji sighed. "I feel ashamed to admit that I'm kind of glad that you have this ability."

"Why?" It wasn't of any use for him; unless he wanted another Gunpla battle, which would be impossible.

"Because it gave me a chance to see you again." Sei snorted and Reiji pouted, cheeks coloring deep red. "I'm serious!"

"Sorry, sorry," Sei chuckled. "I'm glad to see you again as well, but don't feel ashamed. It's not like you wanted me to get injured or for China to hit her head."

"She hit her head? No wonder she was batshit insane."

"Hey!" Protectiveness flared inside of him. "Don't you dare call China names. She went through a lot because of me and she almost killed herself because she thought of me first."

"Okay, okay, sorry! I didn't mean to insult your girlfriend!" Reiji flailed his hands as blue eyes shot daggers at him, ready to kill. Sei could be really scary when he wanted to be, Reiji thought as the blunet simply stared him down until he was satisfied and looked away, letting him exhale a relieved breath.  
"Apologize to China tomorrow." Oh, for goodness' sake! I thought we were over that!

"Okay, okay, just don't bite my head off!" Reiji grumbled.

Sei nodded in satisfaction and turned around to go to sleep. Reiji rolled his eyes and went to sleep as well.


	6. notice: hiatus

okay, so people are probably wondering why there have been no new chapters and this is why.

my computer and ipod had been destroyed (along with my life but that's not the important part) and all my saved stories had been erased for good so i have to rewrite the chapters. currently i'm head over heels trying to rewrite the assassination classroom one since that one was 90 pages erased and the one i am currently obsessing over, so that takes priority.

also, as you know, i have a hard time writing this fic since i lost some inspiration, so rewriting is really hard for me.

so this is me saying that story is herby on _**hiatus**_ , not discontinued, on **_hiatus._**

so pray that i'll be able to rewrite it, but truth be told, i won't know until i'll actually finish the next chapter.

wish me luck and hopefully see you.


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